You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record, baby...

Hi.  I'm wondering if you can help me- I seem to have lost March.  I was just sitting here reminiscing with February about how nicely 2012 was going, and the next thing you know- April is all up in my grill.  RUDE. *sigh* We knew this would happen- are we any more prepared for it? Maybe a teensy bit...okay- not at all.  But we're totally getting the hang of this, the uber epitome of domesticity... Only one room and garage still needing to be organized and settled; joining of the new church, nursery, and prayer-shawl ministry going great; routines in effect and working fine;  local markets and neighborhood nuances becoming familiar; gardening begun in our lovely yard; Baby bear's school applications and classroom assignments for the fall are all set; New friends for playdates and playgroups springing up rapidly; even closer to launching our arts'n'crafts business- just need to iron out a few more details; the Outlaw is seemingly well-adjusted, as long as the local gang of hoodlum-raccoons don't wrestle on the overhang outside her window all night...Sooooo... I am slightly concerned that the wedding is TWO months exactly from today (8 weeks and 4 1/2 days...but who's counting?!) and I'm not either A.) completely content because all details are affixed and comfortably awaiting the big day...HAHAHAHAHAH!  or B.) in a total panic.  

I have noticed however, that there are two novels on my nightstand (again, cue the hilarity- as if I have time to read even ONE PAGE of a book right now)...When I first picked them up (from separate locations on different days) to try and decide which one I would read, I figured that they both looked simple and were unrelated to current life experiences- so that might help me kick back and relax a bit.  They're both mysteries of sorts and differ from my usual tastes (and each other).  Last night after going to the movies with the mister (we saw The Hunger Games) I was reminded of how much of an escape from daily pressures that reading a good book can pose, and picked up the two on my nightstand to finally dive into one after having too long of a break from the satisfaction resultant of allowing my mind to devour a tasty literary feast...when Suddenly I was laughing so hard I couldn't even explain myself to my very curious, confused, and slightly concerned mister... 

The titles of the two completely unrelated books are: "The Maze" and "The Labyrinth".  When I finally regained my breath and divulged this discovery to Papa bear, he tried to disguise his growing concern and inquired as to whether I was laughing because it was 'funny-ha-ha' or 'funny-I've-lost-my-damn-mind'... When I realized that in that very moment I wasn't quite sure, I laughed some more.  So for the next 10 minutes, I tried hard NOT to further freak myself (and Papa bear) out by 'shrinking' myself- but couldn't get around wondering why out of all the hundreds of books I had to choose from, the two I ended up with have plots focusing on (either literally or figuratively apparently) finding one's way from a starting point to an end goal without getting completely lost or panicked in the meantime... Did I say something about 'good stress' a while back??  GAH.  Maybe I will put them back on their respective shelves and get down the novel entitled, "Unwind"? Or one called, "Bright Shiny Morning" or even re-read "Wild Steps of Heaven".  More on that at a later date... ;-P

Anyhoooo.  I'm going to share a couple of crafty pics of the latest projects, annnnnnd then we're off to Costco to buy toilet paper in bulk (in keeping with the domestic bliss)...

Here is the latest sweater sock for your phone/mp3 player/magic beans/fairy dust/whathaveyou: 

And here is a neato reversible scarf I made: 

Now for some pics of us being silly and/or domestic, our latest projects, and other fun new things ;-)

* cloud-gazers *

:::bird-feeders:::

A multitude of bird-feeders (more on whether or not I'm turning into Snow White next time)

Two pretty little trees that do this funny little thing that we've decided we like :-)

Two other pretty trees that have greeted spring quite pleasantly as well, and our smattering of daffodils...

The beginning of our garden!!!!

<3 My guys toiling away in the dirt so I can plant vegetation ;-) JK, I was helping...I just stopped to capture this adorable moment.  

*{warmth}*

Our favorite little visitor :-) 

*kite-flyers* 

On that note, I leave you until next time...which, at this rate, could very well be only after we've found our way through this long and winding, yet joyous next couple of months <3 

Take care of each other, welcome spring, and go fly a kite...I mean that in the most positive way possible  ;-)

*xo*

Zu-zu's petals

 Welp, I did it again.  Over a month has gone by since the last blog.  I can't even believe 2011 is about to end! How is it possible that our little baby boy just turned THREE?!?!? Okay, alright...cliche cliche cliche, trite realizations, blah blah blah.  Glad we got that out of the way. ;-P


Sooooooo how about fantasy football being over? JK. Way bigger news in this household.  In all honesty, I wouldn't know a fantasy football if it came and curled up next to me on the couch.  ;-P
Our apartment is 50/50 in boxes/mess-about-to-be-in-boxes right now.  We started a couple weeks ago thinking we would be on our way to the new house for Christmas...but alas, the bank wanted us to spin the OTHER way during the hokey-pokey in the ring-of-fire-encapsulated-time-machine-heading-to-the-Great Wall circa 1449...We WILL, however, be there before the Superbowl and Valentine's Day ;-) 
...Soooo Papa Bear drove up the 21st, we had our official Christmas Eve on the 22nd and Christmas the 23rd since Papa had to work the actual holidays.  Gabriel didn't mind or really know the difference(last year we can get away with that)- in fact it was all he asked to have: his Daddy (& Mommy) with him for his holiday.  ::: I call it 'his' holiday, not because we don't celebrate the birth of Christ...but because Christmas Day is actually Gabey's birthday as well.  So for him, not only is it an honor that he gets to share his special day with baby Jesus, but it's like the whole world becomes sweeter, more magical, and wonderful- all for him <3  It warms my heart more than anything else in the world.  It is already one of the most poignant and positively AWESOME times of the year in our home, but the fact that we were blessed with our son on that special day- is truly a gift from above.  I am honored to be Gabriel's mother no matter what, but to share that special bond on an already extraordinary day of celebration- is something that I never dreamed I'd have the blessed opportunity to experience :::

What a whirlwind this week has been :-)  We are planning to have Gabriel's actual birthday party once we're in the new home- and let me tell you, it's going to be a big locomotive shenanigan ;-D  For children, I might add... We are not, nor will we ever be the type of family that uses a child's birthday as an excuse for all of the adults to express their scooba-doosheriness.  *ahem* (sidenote: back in the day, I expressed enough scooba-doosheriness for half the campus with the best scooba-dooshes around- but never at children's birthday parties.) The scooba-dooshery days in our lives are looooooong gone...if you're cool with that, come on down! If not, slainte annnnnnd keep it to yo-self ;-D
Anyways...We're thinking a Thomas-the-tank-engine themed party for our big 3 year old locomotive-enthusiast.   Santa brought him a real radio-control train set this year, and besides rocket ships/outer space (?!) he's OBSESSED with all things trains.  I'm already brainstorming crafts and decorations... ;-)  We're almost as excited as he is lol.
Thennnnnnn we shall house-warm! Holy molten rock is that going to be a great time too.  I think it'll be a "Welcome Spring" themed gathering then...and host it sometime in March since we'll be down where Spring hits much sooner than the frozen North Country.  I'm starting to remember things about the area... like how wellies suffice most of the time as winter boots down there, and there's actually a definable 'spring' instead of just some mud between winter and summer...The best, is no more lake effect! Every place has it's pros and cons...I'm just uber geared up to get HOME :-)  To be all together under the same roof again *sigh*    By the time we're all unpacked and settled- we'll be done with the wedding and on our honeymoon lol.  I have a feeling that as fast as 2011 went by- 2012 is going to be a delightful tornado of a year!  One other weensy feeling I have though, iiiiisss that wedding planning is going to jump up and shake me around mid February...good thing we got such a jump on designs, booking locations, guest list, menu ideas, etc... Now just to book and finalize...says the woman who currently thinks 5 months is PLENTY of time lol.  If I want to give myself a reality check, all I have to do is remember that our family vacation was already over 4 months ago...YIKES.   It's good stress though, and I'll tell you what: IT'S ABOUT DARN TIME FOR SOME GOOD STRESS.  ;-D  


*Speaking of stress...I need to make a special note in here about our church family.  They have been beyond supportive and loving to us, not only by enacting a prayer chain in regards to getting our family together under one roof (our own!)- but also over the past year as we've journeyed through heartbreak, healing, and hope for the future.  They've never wavered, and have been a rock for us- in and out of regular church services, even through times of their own personal strife and heartache.  They really are family to us and my heart is saddened at the thought of our attendance this Sunday being our last official visit (as regular members)...until we come back to see family periodically from now on.  We have had guidance in selecting a church to join in our new neighborhood, and are so grateful for that...but nothing will ever compare to Emmanuel.  Though we will see everyone here and there during visits, on facebook, and at the wedding (of course!)- a chapter of our lives is coming to a close.  I will miss them all so very much- we have not even begun to realize the extent...as I have known some of them since adolescence <3  My heart holds a special place for our Emmanuel family, now and forever.*  


I must share one of my very favorite holiday memories this year- that I will hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life (besides every look on our son's face throughout the last week <3 ) ...Papa bear's reaction to watching "It's a Wonderful Life"for the first time (I know?!) on Christmas Eve :-) We LoVe classic old movies; Hitchcock especially, but anything with Jimmy Stewart or Clark Gable, Doris Day, Grace Kelly, etc... The mister has seen everything with Stewart...except IAWL. (In over 5 years together, I haven't the slightest idea how that one got by me!) Well needless to say...it's not only a permanent Christmas tradition in our household now, but his new favorite movie of all time :-) ...and maybe mine as well <3 


Also..."Pinterest" has captured what little of my attention span is lying around...great googly moogly, that site is addictive.  Talk about amazing.  As soon as I can figure it out, I will put a badge to my boards on this site...in the meantime...check it out!!


I leave you all with some photos depicting crafts as of late as well as some special moments :-) God bless you and keep you all safe, happy, and healthy now and in the new year.  Welcome 2012- and all there is to offer! Let us be better than the past and strive toward greatness for the future <3

First, the classic Christmas card photo :-)

Here's our big boy in front of the mitten tree at our church :-)

He's so happy because we prepared for it for so long and he got to "help" bring things in and dedicate them when the time came.  I am so glad he's becoming interested in investing time and effort to do things for others- it warms my heart <3  He's also started initiating grace at the dinner table.  We are beyond blessed to have such a sweet and spiritual little person in our lives everyday.  

Here are a couple of projects I've been working on...

          

This is one of the cell-phone sweater-socks that I made as a gift :-) Varying in color/size/style/silver charm phrases/etc.  They will soon be on my ETSY store (once we're settled and up & running!)

 

                               

The actual prototype is the grey one above... no idea why the photos did that crooked-y thing and can't for the life of me fix it...Anyhooooo...

Another example below...

Here are some other gifts I've been working on...though the lighting came out strange, and you'd never know it: they are charming little multi-colored wash cloths :-) Cotton and knitted w/double-strands, durable for scrubbing- but soft enough for baths.  "Lily" brand cotton yarn has some delightful shades to go with any kitchen or washroom.  I used a very simple pattern  you can find on my ravelry site :-)  They too will be in the ETSY store before long.  

Now onto some more fun stuff :-) 

Here's Gabriel and the big guy...and an elf.  :-) 

 The night before Christmas :-) 

We made cookies for Santa, and hung our stockings <3

He left treasures galore <3

:::

::::::

:::

So happy together :-)

And lastly, best wishes to all and...

See you next year ;-)

"Moobs like Jagger."

Okay.  I've thought about it, and I'm pretty sure it's not a type of cabin fever...in fact, quite the opposite now... I mean- I've been to the movies TWICE in the past month, compared with...uhhhh, twice in the past 2 years? Eeeesh.  I've become waaaaaay more involved in the community and such instead of just burp rags, 2 am feedings, elmo- and even potty-training... So this Bruno Mars thing (I haven't quite come up with a moniker for the syndrome...YET) is about 2 years overdue, yes? Hahahahah I suddenly realized that I must be one of the ONLY hot-blooded-well-- HUMANS that couldn't connect his name to a song...besides Gabriel since he's been under this pile of diapers with me....and probably The Outlaw, she's more of a classical gal.  I even remember the mister mentioning something about some awesome song on the radio by some guy with the name of one of the planets...

So, please bear with me as I stand here blinking, sputtering astonished-unintelligible-jabber, wearing an oatmeal-encrusted flannel robe and avacado mush from grimy little fingers in my hair... as yesterday's pop culture newbies slap me directly across my pasty white face.  I'll pull myself together and get with it in time for Gabriel to not be mortified by my very existence.

And, hey- somehow I still look alright in blue jeans, heels and lip gloss ;-D

I am NOT a human wet wipe.  That is all.  :-)

Just me, myself, and #*&!@%? Bruno Mars...

The man and his voice have taken up residence inside my noggin- day and night.  That is all.

Oh- and this: Bruno Mars – It Will Rain  Definitely mostly that.

"...A persimmon by any other name would be as sweet..."

I just realized that I haven't blogged in almost a month!!! Wow- time is flying.  SO much is going on right now...good things though :-)

I hope everyone has had as lovely a holiday season thus far as we have <3  I also hope that those of you who went out for Black Friday shopping are still in possession of all teeth, limbs, and sanity...and are back home safely with your beautiful families.  This societal consumer/material-based event is getting ridiculously out of hand.  I understand wanting to get the perfect gifts for the ones you love at a more than reasonable steal of a price- but the trampling, violence in general, and all around negativity...oy vey.  It's sad and more than a bit horrifying.  Losing sight of the true meaning and spirit behind the season...and it gets worse every year.  I think that's one of the things that bothers me the most- how the media and corporations rev everyone up and feed the frenzy until so many people have lost their minds and are reduced to a quivering mass of elbow-dropping NEED.  I went out into the madness one time, a few years ago, and will NOT do it again.  Nothing is worth it.  I will be home with my loves, being thankful that we have each other, a roof overhead, clothes on our backs, and food in our bellies- so many unfortunate souls aren't as blessed... It is Thanksgiving, right?  

Anyways...I'm not trying to rant or rave or judge or any other such thing.  To each his own, and I know that feeling in the pit of your stomach when your blessed little child's eyes light up at the perfect gift.  I get it; I will just personally go about other ways to inspire that fire :-) 

So we finally got in the last round of paperwork (complete with first-childhood-dog-dewclaw-blood-signatures...I think that's what the actual hold-up was, really) and now it's time to sit tight and wait. 

*sigh*  Either way, it's out of our hands- and we did our very best jumping through all the hoops.  They even requested a letter from our pastors proving that we are in fact members of our church and are going to be married there- in order to assuage the bank's fears regarding separate incomes/households/child care costs, etc.....a tad overboard...  Soooooo yeah, we're pretty relieved to be now just waiting for the bank to finish up with everything and give us a closing date...for REAL this time.  Unbelievable :-) We may truly be home for the holidays this year <3 

In other news, the Mister and I have been daydreaming about what our life will look like next year at this time... talk about warm fuzzies ;-) We are so blessed and happy with our life- even if things are up in the air right now with moving and it takes repetitive near-constant travel to have our family together on a regular basis... We are continually finding ways to be grateful about all of the trials and tribulations we've been through over the past five years...it's caused us to grow and change in ways that will only benefit our family, marriage, and future.  Without the rough and tough times, the everyday joys and would not be as evident! God is good and so often we forget that there is an underlying graceful design to everything...interwoven so beautifully that we can't begin to fathom it.  

In baking news, last week's red velvet cake was delish and this week's triple chocolate fudge cake is starting to get on my nerves.  It sits on the counter and screams my name...ALL THE TIME.  I will blame the mister, as he had a hand in the construction of this latest masterpiece.  That man has some kind of unique connection with confections.  And of course, now he's back to work and I'm left alone with HALF of an ENTIRE triple chocolate fudge cake to contend with.  I've been using a mental image of my wedding gown as a shield against its powers.  So far so-so-so....  

We went to the folks' house for Thanksgiving dinner and now that I think about it, I really got off the hook this time! I brought a pie (from the store, no less- eeek! I know) and concocted a simple green-bean casserole (5 min total prep time!) but indulged in duck, turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, aforementioned green-bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and a store bought Thanksgiving Kombucha tea from my favorite local natural food vendor ;-D  It was a wonderful meal filled with good times.  We are truly fortunate.  Next year, we're going to try to check out the Macy's parade in person because Gabriel loooooooves parades and the giant balloons :-) then all the cooking will be on me at our new home <3 God-willing.  

Tomorrow morning we will be decorating our church for the holidays...and putting up the mitten tree, I believe! I can't wait to put some things on it :-) Suddenly it's crunch time with the knitting, and I regret that I cannot really post many pictures, since it's almost all presents at this point! The next round will be more mitten-tree stuff, so the pics will start back up then...and eventually some "after" pictures once the presents have been opened.   

On that note, I do have one lonely photo- a scarf I did for my mom's birthday from the herb garden yarn...very soft and cozy.  

It does the job :-) and looks very nice with my mother's waist-length silver hair. 

On a totally different note, I would like to say how very much we are enjoying "spotify", which I discovered through Facebook.  It's a program where one can search any genre of music, artist, album, single track listing- you name it! Then you can create playlists with all of the music you gather without spending a dime... I still have my iTunes- the two programs are linked in fact.  It's simply amazing and I recommend it to any and every music-lover.  I actually downloaded the spotify app onto my phone.  Right now, it's on the speaker dock playing an endless stream of playlists we created!  Beautiful <3 It also happens to be a list of a hundred or so songs we're choosing our reception dances from :-) (Bride-Groom first dance, father-daughter, mother-son, bridal party, etc.)  The other day we spent all morning as a family, cuddled up and sampling hundreds of songs, and narrowed our first dance song choices down to ohhhhh- about fifteen or so songs LOL.  Not a bad task to need to tackle together though, it just keeps us remembering the depth of our love.  

On that note, I have a lovely quiet moment I'd like to share here... On the second to last trip to the bus station we made with Papa bear, he did the driving on the way there since I obviously had to do the driving on the way back... After we said our "goodbye-for-now's" and "see-you-in-a-few's"- (which, unbelievably, only gets harder every work week :-/  )  I climbed in behind the wheel to turn us back North, and upon adjusting the mirrors, I realized something I'd never noticed before... Though Papa bear has his side-view mirrors aimed at the road behind us for the bus-station trip, he has the rear-view mirror aimed so that two main areas are visible: the carseat in the middle of the back and the headrest area of the front passenger seat <3   Upon this realization, I had to turn the mirror upwards, so that Gabey couldn't see the tears in my eyes.  There is no end to the ways in which my heart continues to be delighted with amazement at the power of LoVe.    

Do that for each other...delight someone's heart with a seemingly minute or barely noticeable detail... It's the thoughtful little moments we share on this journey together that make the life-altering big steps even more meaningful.  

We also decided to go ahead and decorate a bit for Christmas in the apartment- even if we end up in our new home for the big day.  Gabriel loves the season and deco so much- (even more because it's like a birthday present just for him lol) that we couldn't bear to just sit by and wait for a closing date to tell us where we're going to be in order to start feeling the holiday love :-)  We're going to have to pack everything soon anyways...I've never been so excited about that prospect before.  

One last image to leave you with...here's the kitchen staff waiting around for the bird to cook on T-Day ;-) 

Blessings, leftovers, and much warmth to you all.  

...Now, to get back to the chocolatecakeImeanknitting.  

;-D

I'm honored that you have faith in my guts, but.....

So...breakfast in bed  r u l e s  ...Especially being on the receiving end...TWICE in one week ;-D  What sorta doesn't rule is when your loving breakfast-in-bed-preparers (Papa and BabyBear) get so carried away in the elaborate and beautiful details of your meal, that they forget you are in fact a LACTARD.  So yeah...Delightful little spread for Mama bear minus the shake made with regular milk instead of the usual soymilk.   It did seem a little thinner than the norm.  It's the thought that counts though...and unfortunately, everyone learned their lesson that day...  ;-P


On a lighter and more gastrointestinally-friendly note, the butterscotch shortbread cookies, maple french toast muffins, butternut squash soup, reeeal mac'n'cheese, and pumpkin cream-cheese layer cake were a hit this week.  Annnnnd... though many of you have probably already discovered this, I must tell you, if you have a local grocery that fresh-roasts rotisserie style whole-chickens for take-out...CHECK IT OUT.  Make sure to get a F R E S H one...and though there are a few different seasonings available, the buttery-garlic is totally delish.  A lovely and easy compliment to many meals.  Leftovers for a couple days too- if you have a smallish family anyways.   


Now...off the food topic... Papa Bear is sadly back to work (though sporting a spanky new black wool cowl).  We did manage to cram a lot of fun into the past week.  Boo At The Zoo was a blast and Gabey looked supah ferocious (not reeeeally lol) as a Dinosaur ;-D 
We also took advantage of the other non-rainy-sort-of-warmer-fall-day (lol) to bike a few miles around the village.  The last of the house paperwork (for now) was signed and sent in... The silver cross pen that completed all the forms and signed everything has been tucked away to be mounted in a shadow box art piece along with other artifacts of our first home-buying adventure...it will be the first thing, ceremoniously hung, on the wall in our new home, in the cozy woodstove sitting room, once we are settled.  :-)  We are now waiting to hear back from a plethora of lawyers, bank reps, etc. as our info and various contracts get tossed around, further accumulating signatures and photocopies.  *sigh*  I must admit, we are becoming anxious for the seemingly never-ending flurry of bureaucratic processes to cease...preferably before we are buried under 4 feet of snow in -20 degree weather lol...However, we are grateful and remembering every day how very blessed we are to have come so far on such a wonderful journey together.  Once in retrospect, this waiting period will fade...and will be all but replaced by the memories soon to be made in our cozy new family home.   <3 


Several projects have been finished and a few more have been started! 
Here are the latest  :-) 

~ The finished cowl for my Mister-Officer-Sir ~

 ~ The 1st finished scarf for "the mitten tree" ~

~The 'matching' hat that is almost finished! ~ 

(I'm having a hard time wrapping it up, but I've found a couple of youtube vids that are proving to be quite helpful!)  I'm not a huge fan of how the color pattern changed with the necessary decrease in stitches...but Gabey isn't bothered by it, so I'm hoping the child that ends up with it will enjoy it regardless as well! 

*     *     *

And now for the next works in progress...though keep in mind, it's not all of them because some of them are presents and we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise ;-)

~ Here's the start of the 2nd "mitten-tree" scarf; also multicolored, but a different type of yarn and dye pattern altogether ~

~ And here is a basic, burgundy, soft and sheen, simple garter-stitch scarf ~

It's so nice to accomplish something, and peruse other knitters' work online to get ideas...lately I'm very cognizant of how simplified and convenient life in general has been made by having a tool like the internet at our fingertips.  I usually shake my head in gleeful amazement at that very sentiment from time to time, but it's even more profound for me recently as I watch my son grow by leaps and bounds and think of the world as he knows it...I can't help but to wonder about the future of his world, and what will be at his fingertips someday...  :-)  

Stay warm, learn something new, and LoVe each other.  


PS ~ Scroll down to the very bottom of the page and press play on the embedded youtube vid for your listening pleasure as you peruse the rest of the site...(Don't be fooled by the title, "Goat Rodeo Sessions" lol)...Then press play again & take a minute to watch the very talented musicians in action...wow!


PPS ~ We've decided abc's "Once Upon A Time" is pretty good, and we can't wait to see more...you should check that out online too if you missed the pilot this past Sunday...it's from the writers of L O S T (the best show EVER) ;-D  

Oh and- Happy Halloween to all ;-) 
The simple little pumpkin our family carved, minus a couple fangs that were accidentally knocked out in the process lol! 

"Mama!! I'm all done on the potty." "Are you reeeeallly?" "Yes. Do you wanna see it?"

Ahhhhh, I can't describe the joys of daily life (potty-training included) now that our conversations are developing into actual productive (and oftentimes humorous) communications.  :-)  He's always been a jabberer, and there was much babbling at and around me, some simple conversations- relevant to needs and/or imaginary play and such...but now he comes out with these gems that prove his little brain is in fact turning into a big brain.  I know it's the natural order of things, but man oh man, is it beautiful!!  We are so blessed.  At the dinner table last night,
Gabriel: "*Murmur babble squeak*...Mama, did you hear that?!"
Me: "I sure did...What was it?"
Gabriel: "Sounds like Utty! He says he has big nose!!" (Utty = Gabriel's sidekick/lovey/favorite possession in the Universe...see picture below.)
Me (Trying really hard not to laugh and only partially succeeding): "Utty said he has a big nose?"
Gabriel (Realizing his mini-faux-pas and half-smiling): "Oooh.  Not nose, NEWS...Utty says he has big news."

Then we got into a tickle-match and I'm still not sure what the big news was. Utty's always monkeying around. Though I'm sure it was something hilarious. :-) He also said to me randomly yesterday that "God gives us the flowers and the trees...aren't they gorgeous??" Wow <3 From the mouths of babes.

In other news, Gabey picked out some more yarn for the church "mitten tree" adornments.

It's called "Mexicana" and is so cheerful and fun, I hope any kid would want to wear it :-)  The above photo shows a little scarf that's about halfway finished.  Really quick and easy.  I'm almost done with the black wool cowl (see below) and am going to throw some Mexicana on the 16" round needles next and see what we can do hat-wise...

Here it is... Only restarted it 3 times lol.  And it's still not perfect.  But that's okay.  It will do the job.  The pattern I'm basing it off of is on the ravelry site (you should join!!) under "Bertoo's cowl" ...belonging to a much more skilled knitter than I am.  I think if we didn't have to be concerned about making it unobtrusive and inconspicuous, and had used a big chunky blend, it would be super stylin'.  Maybe I shall take 'herb garden' and my new 29" round needles and see what I can come up with ;-D

Papa bear comes home tomorrow, and we have much planned... Baking for a church-friend's husband's memorial :-(  Church, "Boo at the Zoo" (a local event for younger children- not so scary but in keeping with the seasonal spirit- costumes, "trick-or-treating", games and more fun...plus seeing all of the animals), some decorating, pumpkin carving, and maybe even a trip to the local cider mill...I think some celebrations are in order as well since the home-buying adventure has progressed immensely since my last post referencing the madness...I will certainly keep you all informed when we know for sure ;-)  

Now to go hack up a squash and bust out the crock-pot for some yummy fall soup.  Have a great weekend everyone...stay warm, send out nothing but love & goodness, and be happy.  xoxoxo

"Oooooh! You finished it...it's so nice...ummm what is it?"

So guess who has an ear infection with excess fluid pressing on the ear drum?? Yours truly.  I can't remember the last time I had an ear infection, but I must say- I'd rather I have one instead of the little dude.  I was given 3 scrips and told to rest.  HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! *sigh...wiping tears of confusion from eyes* Rest? ...reeeeeessst...rrrrr-ehhhsst...Ruh-ehssstttt?  I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about but oooooookay!
Anyways... The black wool cowl for my mister is coming along nicely. Now that I can sort of interpret an actual pattern (thanks mom!) and have graduated to circular needles, I think I can actually get somewhere even more productive with this knitting thing.  This Sunday, I talked to one of my pastors and decided that I'm going to really focus this fall on helping to adorn the Christmas/winter "mitten tree".  Not that I'm anywhere near knitting mittens, skill-wise... It's more of a catch-all-woolen-thing-tree for kids and families in the community that don't have warm winter accessories.  Now you can all stop avoiding me.  I will not be sending out hideous fuzzy things that you'll have to secretly regift or turn into cat beds :-) Here are a couple of photos of the latest projects (which have actually proven to be quite restful in the midst of all the insanity):
Here is the beginning of the cowl...

Here is the yarn I'm going to start knitting the various assorted scarves and such from..It's a multi-colored, sort of candy-cane swirl:

Here are couple of other projects; beading and sewing :-) 

A big fleece winter pillow for Gabey's crib :-) 

And some extra throw pillows for the living room to add some color to our pretty-much plain olive/fern scheme... Gabriel helped Mama pick out the parasols, and the Rock and Roll fleece was a whole family effort a few months ago when Papa asked Mama to make him a travel pillow for making the long trip back and forth from home to work.  I had enough left over to make Gabriel the one for his crib as well as a travel pillow for the car for when we pick up and drop off Daddy to the bus every week.

  

For a family that doesn't get much rest...we sure have enough pillows.  *sigh* ;-P